Rick87

September-November 2025 Well, my three years at Aurora comes to an end, there was no double unfortunately as for the second year running we went out of the Copa Aerosur on penalties in the semi-final. Frustratingly it was also the second year running we threw away the lead late on to go to extra time and penalties. Still I got to sign off with lifting the league title again against Libertad which was a great finale. I'm going to miss Aurora and our over-achievement over the past three years, we've built a team that was dominating domestically, brought through a few talented youngsters, upgraded all the facilities to a level comparable with some of the top South American clubs and built up a formidable bank balance that should set the club in good stead for the future. Before I move on here is a quick summary of my career so far;

Championes! Exciting times as we clinch a second title in three years, it would be a fantastic way to sign off as Aurora manager, but there is still the matter of the Copa Aerosur to sort out, can we do the double? We did our part by beating Wilstermann comfortably 4-0. However we still needed Royal Pari to do us a big favor and pull of a shock against Bolivar. Pari left it late, but they didn't let us down! Some personal glory for me as well; I want to reach the South American hall of fame some day, a long way to go for that yet, but being in the Bolivian HoF is a great start!

June - August 2025 Well my time at Aurora may be coming to an end with my move to Racing Club on the horizon, but I am determined to leave Bolivia on a high, with a League and cup double very much on the cards it could be an amazing finale for me in Cocochamba. We have been in sensational form since getting knocked out of the Copa Sudamerica, being able to focus purely on domestic football has clearly been beneficial to my team as we've smashed through the competition to establish what looks an unassailable lead at the top of the league; Ten points clear with five games to play, two more wins will wrap things up. Humiliating reigning champions Oriente Petrolero was a particular highlight, they had a red card after five minutes, which allowed us to destroy them 9-0, a very sweet result as they took our title last season and have beaten us on the last three meetings, including the semi final of the Copa Aerosur last year on penalties. I'm hoping we will go go one better in this years Copa Aerosur, we have a stiff test from Bolivar, the highest reputation club in the country, however our recent record against the 24 time champions is impeccable. The final five league games and the cup semi, I can't say I'm going to miss Bolivia's weird fixture scheduling at the end of each season when I move to Argentina; We could potentially win the title against arch-rivals Jorge Wilstermann, with whom we share our stadium, which would be sweet to say the least, though we need Bolivar to lose to bottom of the table Royal Pari for that to happen which seems unlikely.

Big news! The Banfield offer never materialized as they went with another candidate, however shortly after I received another interview offer from an arguably bigger Argentine outfit; After the interview I was offered the position and have accepted! Though I will be seeing out the season with Aurora, I don't want to leave with nine games to go whilst we are on for a league and cup double but I'm obviously excited by the step up next season. Racing have had a bad season so far in Liga Profesional, languishing in 14th, well below expectations and out of the running for continental competition, so I will have a rebuild on my hands, possibly with a couple of my Aurora players joining me.

What do you reckon folks? I'm really torn on this. I'm really enjoying Aurora and am on course for a second Bolivian title, possibly a league and cup double this season, I know all my players who all like me and am seen as an icon at the club. On the other hand Banfield are a big club in Argentina, who are currently playing in the Libertatores, with some investment they could become challengers for the Argentine title. In my goals in the first post of this thread, I said I want to manage Boca Juniors someday which hasn't changed, this would certainly be a step towards that, even if Banfield just ends up being a stepping stone for me. The Bolivian national team job could also be coming up with La Verde on course to finish dead last in World Cup qualifying with four games to play. It is also an ambition of mine to manage Bolivia to their first World Cup since USA 94', so I could hold off from moving until after the final qualifying round in October where the Bolivian FA will presumably make up their mind regarding a change. As there won't be any WC games for Bolivia in 2026 I could potentially take that job and remain with Aurora for the final year of my contract for a third tilt at continental success.

May 2025 After playing way more games than everyone else last month, we only played a single league fixture this month, which we duly won to cling onto the top spot by the skin of our teeth, break two club records and progress in the cup. Sadly our continental aspirations are over this season as we crashed out of the Copa Sudamericana in the group stage. Wins over Everton and Talleres wern't enough to save our skin as Deportivo Cuenca took second place in the group behind Talleres. The board had set me a target of reaching the semi-finals, which I though was unrealistic. However I was very disappointed we didn't even get out of the group. The board aren't happy either! Thankfully we are doing well domestically which should keep pressure off me for now, we set a new club record by absolutely destroying ABB in the Copa Aerosur Close game! I don't recall three different players getting hat-tricks in a single fixture before. Nice to see 16 year old Fabricio Hurtado getting his forth and fifth goals of the season as well. Ignacio Poplawski's goal after 58 seconds was a club record for fastest goal, but that record only stood for two weeks as Willian Alverez gave us a dream start in the 2-0 win over Tomyapo after just 13 seconds! Now everyone has caught up in terms of games played and we reach the half way point, it's really game on the race for the title. We are no longer involved in Copa Sudamericana which could prove a blessing in disguise considering all the injuries we've had. In other news, Oswaldo Blanco has announced his decision to retire at the end of the season I'll miss Oswaldo, he was a massive part of our undefeated title winning season in 2023 but there is no escaping the fact that he is now on the downslope, he has been second fiddle behind Willian Alverez as my primary striker and isn't quite as sharp as he was a couple of years back, and young academy graduate Sebastian Garcia is coming along nicely in terms of development, so I won't be trying to persuade him to stay on for another year. I would love for him to become part of my backroom team though as Serginho did at the end of last season. Oswaldo Blanco's Aurora record.

March / April 2025 A grueling couple of months fixture wise has resulted in a revolving door being installed to the treatment room. Injuries have blighted us severely, but at this point we still lead the way in Primera. Five points clear but having played four games more than the chasing pack, It seems rather unfair we have had to play so many games in such a short space of time when the others haven't, especially as we are competing on two other fronts as well. We opened our Copa Sudamerica group with a draw against Chile's Everton, a 87th minute header from Willian Alvarez saved a point for us which was the least we deserved after being the better team throughout. Unfortunately we have a habit of being the better team in terms of chances and possession but winding up not making them count, only to be punished, as was the case against Independiente Petrolero who scored with both of their shots on target, we however squandered chance after chance and should have won comfortably. We are through to the third round of the Copa Aerosur where we ill face Segunda side Acadamia del Belompie Boliviano (ABB for short) I'm hoping we can go one better than last season's semi, and reach the final this year as it's a competition Aurora have never won, finishing runners up twice in the 2010's. It would be great to be the manager who delivers that maiden success. The aforementioned injury pile-up has forced me to turn to the youngsters, who are vying for a chance in the first team; Fabricio has taken his opportunity wonderfully and has already made himself part of my plans going forward. He scored twice from midfield on his debut in the crushing 9-0 Copa Aerosur win over Deportivo Shalon. I rewarded him with a run in the first team, scoring his first league goal in the derby win over Jorge Wilstermann. Certainly one to watch. Only one substitute appearence so far for young Oscar, he came on to replace the injured Ceaser Menacho in the 55th minute of the 2-1 defeat to Palmafor del Tropico. My youth coaches all rate him highly so I will be gradually giving him more chances to get involved. Recalled from his loan at Garcia Agreda when I went down to just three fit defenders for the games against Everton and Independiente, Kevin came on in both games, performing solidly. Not sure he will feature for me long term but he is filling a need until my injured defenders return. A couple of games less next month so hopefully the fitness problems begin to subside and we can get on a decent run domestically and on the continent.

I've just reached my century as Aurora head coach; We managed to mark the occasion with a 2-1 win over Always Ready My overall career stats so far; I'm definatly loving life at Aurora and I fully intend to try and make them a real force in South America, my ultimate aim is to be the first Bolivian club to win the Copa Libertadores. It's going to take time but with the board agreeing to several upgrades of our facilities we are getting the infrastructure in place to boost our standing in the world. I'm really quite lucky to have a chairman who agrees with basically everything I suggest!

Turns out I was wrong about us not dropping into the Copa Sudamericana; In real life only the best two losers from the Libertadores third qualifying round get to enter the secondary competition, but this editor data I'm using appears to have all the losing teams advancing. Not that I'm complaining! The board have set a wildly ambitious target of reaching the semi-finals, considering the likes of Vasco, Indipendiente, Estudiantes, Fluminense and Argentinos Jr's are in this competition that aim does seem unrealistic to me, but hell, I like a good challenge! I've had to make an unplanned signing to keep things ticking over in the midst of a serious injury crisis; Kevin Salvetierra - Kev was a free agent so I'm allowed to sign him outside of a transfer window, he's actually been on my shortlist for a while after impressing me with his performances for Royal Pari whilst on loan from Bolivar. Bolivar let him go at the end of his contract in December so I'm surprised nobody else has snapped him up before now. Anyway, he will provide cover whilst three of my four wingers recover from injuries. I gave Kevin a contract until the end of the season with an optional one year extension, whether I chose to use that option remains to be seen.

Cracking start to life in the new stadium!

January & February 2025 Hi all, sorry I've not been very active with this recently, it's been a hectic couple of weeks. I've now had a few hours of peace and have plowed through a couple of months to kick of the 2025 season in high Andes! I have made two additions to the squad during the rather short off-season here in Bolivia; Mirko Juarez - A club record signing, In all honesty I think I've over-paid on him, spending £1.6M to bring him in from Quilmes, but he is a statement transfer, wrestling away a player from a Argentine Primera side is no joke for a Bolivian club, and shows our reputation is rising. That been said he is still a tidy player who adds quality and significant potential to my defense. Kevin Parra - Loaned with an option to buy from Colombian club Patriotas Boyca. Kevin is a useful winger who can play on either flank. Hopefully he can develop to his full potential whilst with us and become a permanent member of the team. Only one player was sold, reserve defender Brian Barao - who only made one senior appearence for Aurora, joins Always Ready for £69k. I had no doubts about letting him go and I reckon we got a very good price. A hectic, but largely encouraging start to the new season, coming from behind to win on Penalties against Ecuador's Independiente del Valle in the Libertadores qualifying, we then overcame Chile's Union Espanola before our luck ran out against Argentina's Belgrano who we beat at home but were thrashed by in Cordoba. The one positive from that game was 17 year old hot prospect Sebastian Garcia scoring his first senior goal after coming on to replace Willian Alvarez when he picked up a knock. I've got him in a mentoring group to try and improve his mental attributes. I'm also working on his strength as at 6'6 he should be a monster at set-pieces. We might be out of the Libertadores, and sadly only the best two losing teams from the third round drop into Copa Sudamericana, but perhaps no continental competition might be good for us as we look to reclaim the title from Oriente Petrolero this season. My contract with Aurora expires at the end of next season and I intend to honor it, but what sort of final season I have will be determined by this campaign. I want one serious tilt at winning the Libertadores with Aurora, to do that we need to attract some of South America's top players, and to do that we need to be winning things. So this is a make-or -break season for me in my mind and if I should decide to renew my contract here or begin looking at moving on seriously.

End of Season 2024 Meh - The best way I can sum up the end to the season. It fizzled out into nothing in the end. Highly disappointing after all the work we put in through the middle of the season to get ourselves back into title contention. But injuries coupled with the stupid scheduling at the end of the season cost us dearly. Coming from 4-1 down to earn a point against Always Ready was impressive, as was thrashing Universitario, however the loss to Independiente Petrolero killed any realistic chance of holding onto our title, making the visit of Tropico a dead rubber, a good thing really as I would have been gutted by their stoppage time winner if it still mattered! To be fair, the board only asked for qualification for continental competition, so we have achieved their goals, however I can't help but feel disappointed by fourth place after winning the title last season. Losing the semi final of Copa Aerosur on penalties was also upsetting, especially as we were ahead right up to the 92nd minute against Oriente. As soon as that injury time equiliser went in, I had that feeling that tonight wasn't our night, as it proved. Here is my team of the season; I've cast one eye to the jobs market, I'm not desperate to move and am making plans to lead Aurora in 2025 for our bid to reclaim the title, but if the right job comes up I could be tempted to apply. We shall see!

June-August 2024 Hi all, I've been without Wi-Fi for a few days so I've moved through a few months, here is a quick catch up with my progress We came charging back in the league, putting together ten consecutive wins to actually briefly reach the summit of Primeria division, though we promptly blew that position by losing to the two main challengers, Oriente Petrolero and Jorge Wilstermann, I don't recall having ever had a player sent off whilst manager of Aurora before these games, we then had a red in these games back-to-back. Costing us dearly both times. We did bounce back by crushing rivals Bolivar 7-3 on their own ground though to keep our faint hope of retaining the title alive, we are five points behind with five game to go, so it's Oriente's to lose, but we have to be ready if the do slip up. We are also through to the semi-final of the Copa Aerosur where a showdown with Oriente awaits, to be fair we have had an easy path through to this stage, playing mostly Segunda and regional sides on our way to the last eight, but still it would be great to have won both of the domestic competitions. Sadly, our continental meandering is over this season as we went out of Copa Sudamericana 3-1 on aggregate to Peruvian outfit Garcilaso. The good news is we will be back marauding around South America next season, it's just a matter of whether that's in the Copa Libertadores or Sudamericana. I used the transfer window to splash some of last years prize money to bolster the squad Felipe Yanez - My new left back who cost us £1.4M from Colo Colo, a real hot prospect who could go far in the game Keke' - Brazilian winger who can play on either flank, signed from Brazilian Serie C side Trombese for £350k to replace another Brazilian winger, Serginho, who is retiring at the end of the season. Daniel Camacho - Playmaker who at £87k from The Strongest was a bit of a bargain in my opinion as he's already been a great player for us, but the sale also weakens a rival. Marcos Peano - A new goalkeeper from Argentine club Atlletico de Rafela, signed for £450k

May 2024 Another up and down month where we have continued to be inconsistent. A heartbreaking defeat in Buenos Aries saw our adventure in Copa Libertadores come to an end, that heartbreak was made all the worse by the fact we had battled back from 2-0 down to draw level, only to lose that precious point that would have been enough to take us through late on. Our loss coupled with Bolivar beating Deportes 3-0 saw our rivals go through instead. The good news is, much like the European Champions League, teams eliminated from the group stage in Libertadores drop into a play off round in Copa Sudamericana (The South American equivalent of the Europa League) So our continental adventure isn't over yet this season. Peruvian side Garcilaso stand in our way, they are mid-table in the Peruvian Liga 1, so I reckon we have a good chance. We are also through to the last sixteen of the Copa Aerosur, where we will take on amateur side Deportivo Cooper after we thrashed Nacional Petosi 6-2 in the last round. With us slipping behind in the league, this is probably our best chance of silverware now, so I am going to start taking it more seriously. Five points from four games in Premiera isn't the sort of form that will see us shoot up the table, very disappointing. We are scoring plenty of goals but are also conceding them, I'm already looking into spending some of our title win prize money when the transfer window opens in August to shore up defense and hopefully add another midfielder to our ranks. It looks as if the other pre-season favorites are also struggling so I perhaps shouldn't be too hard on my players, ten points behind the leaders it will take a good run to get back into contention but it's possible. I at least want to finish in the top three so we can have another crack at the Libertadores. I got a preview of the new youth intake this month, which looks less exciting than last season despite the club pumping over a million into facilities upgrades; Hopefully the upgrades will start producing results next season! In other news, the Copa America tournement gets underway next month, My scouts and I are keeping a close eye on the event being held in the USA, which this year is open to teams from North, as well as South America. I'm particuarlly intrested in how Boliva fare in the tournament, as I've mentioned before I harbor ambitions of managing La Verde. If they should happen to do badly and decide to look for a new manager I will apply and try international management, alongside my club position, at least to start with.

April 2024 A tiring month for us with action in the league and Libertadores, but we have come through it in a stronger position and are on the cusp of reaching the knockout rounds of Libertadores as well as pulling ourselves up the table domestically. There were no easy matches this month, every game was against sides favored heavily against us so we did well to pick up the points that we did. I've been tinkering tactically and have changed to a much more aggressive system than the box standard 442 I utilized last season. So far it's worked well, only against Wilsterman in the Cocochamba derby did we fail to hit the net at least once. I had some doubts about the high defensive line but so far we have implemented it well, hopefully as we become more familiar with the players new roles we will get back to the kind of form that saw us win the title at a canter last season. We were unlucky to lose at home to Deportes Tolima, we gave the Colombians a tough time and only a beautiful 85th minute freekick condemned us to defeat, we did manage to hold on in the reverse fixture, taking a well deserved point across the border in Columbia. The was also a double header against rivals Bolivar, I remain unbeaten in my four meetings against the 24 time champions, drawing in Libertadores and beating them at home, much to the fans delight. If we can better Bolivar's result against Tolima in our game against Independiente, we will be through to the next round, it would be a fantastic achievement for our club and a sign of the real progress we are making. Back into the top half of the table, following our slow start. A couple of wins and we will be right back in the mix in what is a very competitive league. In other news, Serginho will be playing for us into his forties, the ever green Brazilian winger has provided four goals and two assists in ten games already this season and has earned a one year extension to his contract which also sees him take his first non-playing role, coaching the U19's. Whilst I'm very keen to phase out the older generation of players, several of whom are pushing 40, I don't want to do it too quickly and ruin the team dynamic. Serginho can obviously still perform so i want to keep him around, mostly as an impact sub and gradually phase him into my coaching staff, along with a few of the other elder statesmen we have.

March 2024 The season is now in full swing as we compete for three competitions, we are off to a flyer in the Copa Libertadores, not so much in the league; Beating Bolivar was a great result, but not as great as beating seven times Libertadores winners Inderpendiente! We stormed into a two goal lead at half time but it looked as if the Argentines were going to pull off a comeback when they got back into the game 2=2. However a late goal by Nino gave us a historic win. Unfortunatley that momentum dind't carry over into our game against Guabira, who beat us convincingly 3-2. Through to the third round of the Copa Aerosur, a heavily rotated side made light work of Wilsterman Co-operative on our way to a tie against Real Potosi in the last 32 round. I have no idea how we didn't win against newly promoted San Jose, we dominated from start to finish but they scored two nice long range efforts and we could only manage a draw despite our clear authority in the game; Loooking good so far in the Libertadores, Deportes at home next in what will be a massive game in our bid to get through to the knockout rounds, it won't be easy was they also beat Independiente, suprising as I had expected the Argenties to boss this group. It's not looking quite so encouraging in the league however, something of a slow start to our title defense. With a good run of results we will be right back up there though.

February 2024 All good things must come to an end right? Our incredible 34 match unbeaten run in the league came to an end this month as we suffered a slow start to the 2024 campaign. It looked as if Blooming would be the ones to end my perfect record as Aurora manager, however we battled back from 3-0 down to earn a point as I detailed in my previous post. This was followed by a heavily rotated side easing through to the second round of the Copa Aerosur against Segunda side Ciclon. I don't much care about the cup and will use it as a chance to give my fringe players and brightest prospects some playing time for as long as we are still in it. A draw with The Strongest was a respectable result, though the manner in which we lost to Santa Cruz was not, the first half was all one way traffic as the visitors surged into their two goal lead. We improved after half time and went close repeatedly, however we just couldn't put it away. The league table doesn't mean a lot after just three games, but here it is anyway; I've been a little disappointed with my new signings so far; Cesar Menacho hasn't played yet as he broke his toe in the friendly against Universitario del Sucre, Eduardo Demequil hasn't slotted in at the back as seamlessly as I would have liked, he has mad a couple of costly mistakes alongside Nelson Amarilla at the back, Harold Cummings will hopefully be back from injury soon, who is the partner I had in mind for Demequil, hopefully that lifts his game. Striker Willian Alvarez did get a brace in the cup but I don't think I've quite decided on his best role, he has the attributes of a target man and is a threat in the air. I've told my team to try floating more crosses for him but being a very ground based possession Hungary team it's not working so well at the moment. Left back Mihyel Ortiz has performed ok, solid if not spectacular, I signed him to gradually replace 37 year old Jair Torrico, but so far it looks as if Jair will remain my #1 left back for now. I'm beginning to wonder if I should have splashed some of that £13M transfer budget rather than relying on free's. The transfer window doesn't open until the end of July so my team need to pick it up until then. The Copa Libertadores starts next month, I'm excited to lead Club Aurora in only their third appearance South America's biggest club competition. They went out in the first round in 1964 and 2009. Can we make it past the groups this year? I don't have much hope of beating Independiente, but I do think we can get through second, games against rivals Bolivar could get feisty, Our meetings last season finished 6-0 to us and 1-1 so they will have a point to prove. I'm looking forward to the trip to Buenos Aires to face Independiente, it is one of my ambitions to manage in Argentina so it will be good experirence.

Good luck at Universidad, they are one of the clubs you could well aim to establish as the best on the continent outside Brazil and Argentina.

Congratulations on your debut win, Fornels will be a hoid signing I think. Beautiful graphics and articles as always

I love this team! A cracking game to start to the season off, I felt sure our unbeaten run was coming to an end when blooming went 3-0 up after just 33 minutes. But some tactical jiggery-pokery changed things completely and given the amount of chances we had, we should probably have won comfortably. Still, I'll take the point given the position we were in at half time. Onwards and upwards.

Thanks mate, Yeah I'm enjoying it a lot at the moment and hopefully this will be my long term save on FM24 after a few false starts. I'm keeping up with yours also. ________________________ January 2024 Preparations for our title defense and Continental adventure are complete (I hope) Will we retain our championship? Transfers In Willian Alvarez - Striker who finished third in the Primera Division scoring charts last season with eighteen goals for Universitario de Vinto, he signs on free for us. Ceaser Menacho - Right winger who can also play up front. Signed on free from Blooming to replace Rodrigo Ramallo who left to join the Strongest. Miyhel Ortiz - Another freebie, this time from Palmflor del Tropico where he impressed me with his performances against us last season. He will provide competition for Jair Torrico at left back. Eduardo Demiquel - My final free signing, from Royal Pari where he was the highest rated defender in the league last term. Transfers Out Of all of the players out, only winger Dario can really be described as regular, he left after I failed in my promise to advance more youth academy players. Bit of a stupid reason to leave a title winning club if you ask me, but hey ho. Full Squad I'm happy with my team, I think we will be up there again this season and can cover all but the worse injury crisis. I've also managed to bring the average age of the squad down from 31 to 28. Nothing too taxing in the pre-season schedule, just lower league oppositions to build up fitness and morale ahead of the opening game against Blooming. In other news we have a new el presidente; And I was approached by the two biggest clubs in Bolivia, on the same day! Needless to say, I turned them down, I love it here at Aurora and have targets I want to achieve, mainly to become the first Bolivian side to win Libertadores. It won't happen this season, but with all the upgrades to facilities we are building a longterm project. This season I would like to get out of our group.

October/November 2023 We did it! What a moment for our club, not only claiming only it's second championship win in it's history, but becoming the first club to ever finish the campaign undefeated. I'm over the moon and genuinely excited for next season as we enter Copa Libertadores, Weird scheduling, but we got through it; we didn't perform at the levels we have shown throughout the season, especially against struggling Libertad Gran Mamore who hadn't won in 17 matches as labored to a draw, and it took two late goals to overcome Tomayapo. Still with the the title already secure I'll forgive a little malaise this once. The final league table This seems a massive amount for Bolivia and suspect is an error in the editor data file I'm using, if I was to hazard a guess I'd say the creator meant to set the money as 25M Bolivino (2.5M£) rather than 25M£. But still it shouldn't affect the fair play of the Bolivian league as there are big prizes all the way down. I'm just worried about Bolivian clubs becoming unrealistically overpowered in the Liberdadores. £13M is more money than I can realistically spend in a season. Most players who would consider coming to us have values up to around £250k, so I have asked the board to use money to upgrade the facilities and backroom staff instead as I try to establish Aurora as a force across South America as well as domestically.

September 2023 Yep! the second Primera division title in Club Aurora's history is secured! Still two games left to play, but job done! we earned a point against Bolivar in the big game but manged to win our other three games to take the title in style. Will we complete the season unbeaten? I believe that would be first here in Bolivia, The Strongest have won the title with only a single defeat but I can't find any information about winning it without any losses. I'm not sure why there is almost a month until our next fixture, and then another two weeks before the final one, perhaps an error in the editor data unless there is something I'm unaware of in Bolivia? Oh well, I will arrange a few friendlies to keep sharp.

Thanks mate, hopefully! August 2023 Plenty going on throughout August, through which we have emerged still top of the table and just six games from greatness! Smashing arch-rivals Jorge Wilstermann to get two points clear was special for the fans, as was a late winner in a very tough tactical game against Blooming who performed well above their relegation battling status and pushed us all the way. Still we are unbeaten, can finish the season that way? and indeed will it be enough even if we do? It would be terrible to have an unbeaten season and still not win the league! We will at the very least be in the Libertadores next season, continental competition was my personal aim this season even if the board were happy with mid table safety. I thought that the Copa Sudamericana was more likely mind you, So I'm really happy to have secured this chance to play with South America's best sides. We have been busy on the transfer front; I'm a little disappointed he decided to go, especially to one of our biggest competitors, but the money has come in useful in my squad planning for next season as I have secured three new players; Cesar Mencacho - A direct replacement for Ramallo on the right wing, he joins us in January from Blooming for £97k Miyhel Ortiz - Will replace Vaca as left-back, signing on free in January from Palmaflor del Tropico Eduardo Demequil - A centre back who impressed me when we came up against Real Pari, another free transfer in January We've also had our new youth intake; I'm not sure how elite he looks at the moment, hopefully with some time in a mentoring group his bravery and determination will improve. We're also going to have to do something about his strength if he's to fit in with my style. As with Taborga, we need to do something about those mental and physical attributes, I prize them more than technical. He does look a prospect though. The rest of the intake; I was gutted to lose my HoYD this month as he moves into management with Segunda side Deportivo FATIC, good luck to him. Next up is an absoloutly HUGE game against second place Bolivar, winning will open up a five point gap with as many games left to play, defeat would see them overtake us at the top. A real make or break game!

July 2023 Aurora visible on high ground! With ten games remaining, we are still undefeated and now have crested the summit of Primera division, can we keep it going to secure the clubs first title since 2008? We had tough games against The Strongest and Always Ready that were decided by fine margins, but it was Palmflor del Tropico who gave us the biggest scare, they came from a goal down to fight back and take a 3-1 lead, a 95th minute equilizer by substitute Ignacio Poplawski rescued our incredible unbeaten record in the most dramatic fashion. Two points clear of Bolivar, our game against them in September will be critical. I'm disappointed as Luis was my captain and a great defender, however he wasn't interested in renewing with us so rather than lose him for free I sold him,. £70k might be peanuts in the big European leagues, but here it is still a lot of money that could buy me two decent new signings. Though being the prudent manager I am; rather than splash the cash, I went bargain hunting for a replacement, and I think I've found a good one in the form of Panamanian international Harold Cummings, who was a free agent after leaving Mongas S.C in Venezuala. Harold has represented Panama 81 times and has had a club career that has taken him all over the America's; from San Jose in the MLS to Costa RIca, Colombia, Venezuela, Uruguay and even a short spell here in Bolivia with Always Ready in 2021.